Assurance of Salvation

Question
How can a person be sure he is a Christian?

Answer

After a person has obtained an assurance that the Gospel message is true, how can he then obtain assurance that the Gospel now savingly applies to him, that he is now a true believer in Christ, and that he now possesses salvation?

Although it is possible to be a Christian and to have doubts about one's salvation, the Christian can obtain real assurance in this life. In fact, the Christian is responsible to make his calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10) and to examine himself to see whether he is in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). The Christian's goal should be to know that he indeed has eternal life through Christ Jesus (1 John 5:13).

Biblical assurance of salvation is based upon a unified three-fold witness of the Word, the Spirit and the fruits of salvation. The Word contains the gracious promises of the Gospel that God will save all who truly believe in Jesus Christ. The devil may whisper in our ears that God will never have anything to do with someone who has done some of the things which we have done. The devil may even bring a horribly sinful thought to our minds and then accuse us for having thought it, with the purpose of causing us to despair of any hope of salvation. We need to remember that the Bible promises us that Jesus came to save sinners, even the chief of sinners, as Paul called himself (1 Timothy 1:15; Mark 2:17). God's grace in Jesus is greater than all our sins (Romans 5:20-21; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Meditating upon these gracious Gospel promises is one source of our assurance of salvation.

The Word also describes the sort of life that results from a true faith in Christ. The Bible tells us that if Christ has saved us from the penalty of sin in the next life, then He will also save us from the power of sin in this life. Sin will no longer lord it over the Christian, for he is now a slave of righteousness (Romans 6). If Christ is not saving a person from sin's dominion in this life, then that person should question whether his faith in Christ is genuine and true. As it says in Hebrews 12:14, without holiness, no one will see God. This is not to say that the Christian never sins (1 John 1:8,10). No, sin still clings to his every thought, word and deed. Sin as an inner inclination to do wrong still indwells the Christian's heart, but it no longer rules and reigns. The Christian will not be saved from the presence of indwelling sin until his soul is made perfect in holiness at death and his body is glorified at Christ's return.

The entire book of 1 John was written that those who believe in the Son of God might know that they have eternal life (5:13). That book mentions and discusses many of the marks of the life of a true Christian, one who has been truly born again.

The third witness to assurance is the indwelling Holy Spirit. In some mystical way, He bears witness deep in the inner recesses of our hearts that we are indeed the children of God (Romans 8:16). This still small voice is always there, though at times it may be drowned out by our doubts or overwhelmed by our sense of guilt.

In seeking assurance of salvation, we should depend on the combined witness of Word, Spirit and fruits. Dependence upon any one witness artificially isolated from the other two can result in false assurance and self deception. Focussing on fruits alone can result in a legalistic dependence upon our own goodness for salvation. Claiming to believe in the promises of grace apart from any evidence of Christ's sanctifying work in our lives can result in the hypocrisy of "easy believism." Depending on an inner witness apart from any evidence of the transforming power of Word and Spirit can lead to a shallow emotionalism which confuses the stirrings of the heart for the moving of the Spirit.

If we focus on our faith as a thing in itself, we will never be satisfied. Our faith is never perfect, weakened as it is by doubts and polluted by sin. We may wonder how God can accept us when our faith is so far from perfect. What we should focus on is not our faith but the object of our faith. We should focus upon Jesus through worship, Bible study and prayer. As our understanding and appreciation of Jesus, with His perfect life, His finished sacrifice and all His perfections, grows, so will our faith. And as our faith grows, so will our assurance of salvation.

If we look at our good works, we will find them to be less than perfect. Because sin still clings to them, they are but filthy rags before a holy God. But if we recognize them as the result of God's saving work in our hearts and thus tokens of His grace, then they will be to us more precious than jewels and gems. And we can be assured that Jesus, our great High Priest, will cleanse them with His atoning blood so that God can accept them from us as a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to Him.